Eighth title-seeking Nigeria U-20 team, the Flying Eagles will get to know their path to new glory when the final draw of the CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Cote d’Ivoire 2025 is held on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt.
The Flying Eagles have won the title for a record seven times and will be seeking to extend their record to eight when the competition is held in Cote d’Ivoire starting on 26 April and running till 18th May.
Thirteen teams will be on parade and the top four will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup that will be staged in Chile from 27 September-19 October 2025.
At Thursday’s draw, former Mali international Adama Coulibaly and ex-Senegal star Souleymane Camara will act as draw assistants.
Involved in the draw are hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco.
Others are Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The second team representing the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) will later join.
Format of the tournament
The teams will be divided into three Groups (A, B and C), with Group A containing five teams and Groups B and C four sides each.
Cote d’Ivoire, as the host country, is automatically preassigned to position A1 in Group A.
The remainder of the seeds for each group have been determined via the final placings in the CAF Under-20 AFCON, Egypt 2023.
Holders Senegal take up position C1 and Nigeria, who finished third two years ago, take up position B1.
The identity of the second team from the UNIFFAC Zonal Union is still to be determined following Congo’s FIFA suspension, but the team representing UNIFFAC will be in Pot 1 (Level 2) along with Egypt and Zambia.
The teams in Pot 1 will be drawn into positions A2, B2 and C2.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed sides, before the competition continues in a knockout format.
Tournament procedures
The draw will be made using five separate pots:
- Pot 1: Egypt, UNIFFAC 2, Zambia (Level 2 teams)
- Pot 2: Ghana, DR Congo, Kenya, Morocco, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania
- Pot 3: Positions A2, B2 & C2
- Pot 4: Positions A3, B3 & C3
- Pot 5: Positions A4, B4 & C4
Level 2 teams will be drawn to occupy positions A2, B2 and C2. The remaining teams will be drawn to occupy positions A3, B3, C3, A4, B4 and C4. The last remaining team will automatically be placed in A5.
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